Middle School Ethics Curriculum: 10 Discussion Units for Grades 6–9
The Middle School Ethics Curriculum gives an ethics, advisory or character education teacher ten ready units for Grades 6–9, from justice and conscience to cyberbullying, AI and fast fashion. The lessons are discussion-based but structured, so a conversation about fairness or moral courage has a clear question and an end point. The bundle costs $119.99; the ten units cost $249.90 separately.
See the ten ethics unitsThe Middle School Ethics Curriculum costs $119.99 and holds ten units for Grades 6–9: Justice and Fairness; Conscience and Moral Decisions; Freedom and Responsibility; Prejudice, Discrimination and Moral Courage; Happiness and a Good Life; Cyberbullying and Hate Speech; Influencers and Social Media; AI and Responsibility; Environmental and Climate Ethics; and Consumer Ethics: Fast Fashion & Sustainability. Bought separately the units total $249.90.
The resources
Middle School Ethics Curriculum, Grades 6–9
10 resources in one download: $119.99 instead of $249.90 bought separately.
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Middle School Ethics Curriculum | Justice, Conscience, Freedom, Digital Life & Climate | 10 Units | Grades 6–9
Civics & Civil Rights Bundle | Martin Luther King Jr., Voting, Direct Democracy & Freedom of the Press | 4 Resources | Grades 5–9
Digital Citizenship Activities | Cyberbullying, AI, Social Media & Media Literacy Lessons | Grades 7–10
AI & Cybersecurity Units Bundle | How AI Works, Prompting, Phishing, Encryption & Data Privacy | 6 Units | Grades 6–9
The real problem
Why ethics and advisory periods drift
Advisory and character education periods often get the least planning time of the week. They are squeezed between core classes, handed to whoever has a free slot, and sometimes reduced to a quick check-in or a video. Students notice, and the period turns into homework time. Ethics with middle schoolers brings its own difficulty. Twelve- and thirteen-year-olds have strong opinions about fairness, but a discussion without structure quickly becomes the same three students talking while everyone else waits. Topics like prejudice or hate speech need care: you want honest conversation, not a lecture, and not an argument that hurts someone in the room. What helps is a clear question for each lesson, something concrete to think about before anyone speaks, and a task that gets everyone contributing. It also helps when topics reach into students' own lives. Conscience and freedom matter, but a seventh grader engages faster with cyberbullying, influencers or whether a cheap T-shirt is really cheap. A good year of advisory puts both kinds of topics side by side.
Why it fits
What the ten units bring to an ethics or advisory class
The units combine long-standing ethical questions with problems students meet online and in what they buy.
- Justice and Fairness and Conscience and Moral Decisions lay a foundation for every later discussion.
- Freedom and Responsibility suits the start of a school year, when class norms are being set.
- Prejudice, Discrimination and Moral Courage gives structure to a conversation that needs careful handling.
- Cyberbullying and Hate Speech and Influencers and Social Media bring ethics into students' phones.
- AI and Responsibility and the climate and fast fashion units tie ethics to current questions.
- Each unit is also sold on its own at $24.99 if you need just one topic.
Getting started
Spreading the units across a school year
With one advisory or ethics period a week, this is one possible order. Adjust it to your school calendar.
- Fall: freedom, fairness and conscienceBegin with Freedom and Responsibility and Justice and Fairness while the class is setting norms. Follow with Conscience and Moral Decisions, which gives students words for talking about hard choices.
- Before winter break: life onlineTeach Cyberbullying and Hate Speech and Influencers and Social Media. These topics come up in middle school regardless, so it is better to address them with structure than only after an incident.
- Winter: prejudice and moral courageUse Prejudice, Discrimination and Moral Courage once the group trusts each other. Agree on discussion rules first, and give students a moment to write before they speak so quieter voices are heard.
- Spring: technology and the planetMove to AI and Responsibility, Environmental and Climate Ethics and Consumer Ethics: Fast Fashion & Sustainability. Students apply earlier ideas about fairness and responsibility to new situations.
- End of year: a good lifeClose with Happiness and a Good Life. It is a calm, reflective topic for the last weeks, when students look back on the year behind them and ahead to the next grade.
What to buy
The full ethics set or something smaller
For a full year of weekly ethics or advisory lessons, the Middle School Ethics Curriculum at $119.99 is the practical choice; the ten units cost $249.90 one by one. If your course leans toward civics, the Civics & Civil Rights Bundle ($54.99) covers Martin Luther King Jr., the I Have a Dream speech, voting and freedom of the press. If digital life is your focus, the Digital Citizenship Activities ($69.99, Grades 7–10) or the AI & Cybersecurity Units Bundle ($89.99) go further into technology.
Honest limits
What to check before you buy
The units are not written for any state, district or character education program and carry no standards codes, so compare the topics with what your school expects. They are not a counseling or social-emotional learning program, and they do not replace your school's procedures for bullying incidents. How far a discussion about prejudice or hate speech goes is your call, based on your group. If several advisory teachers want to use the set, message Teach Lessons before sharing. If it does not fit, exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is it aligned with my state's character education or SEL standards?
No. It is not aligned with, endorsed by or approved under any state's character education, SEL or social studies standards, or any district program, and it contains no standards codes. Read the ten unit titles on the product page and check them against your own requirements, or ask whoever coordinates advisory at your school.
Is the curriculum religious?
Nothing in the product description ties it to a religion. The units deal with questions such as justice, conscience, freedom, prejudice and happiness, and with current issues like AI and fast fashion. Read the unit descriptions and judge for yourself whether they suit your school's setting.
How do I keep a discussion about hate speech on track?
Set ground rules before the unit, let students think or write briefly before open discussion, and keep the focus on situations rather than on people in the room. The Cyberbullying and Hate Speech unit gives the lesson its structure; your knowledge of the class decides how far you take it.
Can I use one unit in social studies instead of advisory?
Yes. Every unit works on its own. Justice and Fairness or Prejudice, Discrimination and Moral Courage fit easily into a social studies lesson, and Environmental and Climate Ethics suits a science class discussing climate change. Each unit is also sold separately, so you can buy only the one you need.
Does it work for sixth graders?
The units are written for Grades 6–9. With sixth graders, start with the more concrete topics, such as influencers, cyberbullying or fast fashion, and allow more time for each discussion. The more abstract units on conscience and freedom often land better later in the year.
How is the bundle delivered?
It is a digital download available immediately after purchase. You get a link by email and can find the files again later in your customer account under Orders. Print what you need for each week, or use the materials in a digital classroom if your school works that way.
Give advisory a real plan this year
Open the product page to read the ten unit descriptions, then download the first one for next week.
See the ten ethics units